Investigation: Semi Driver Fell Asleep At Wheel

July 8, 2010, 2:28 PM

NEAR BRIDGEWATER, SD -
Authorities say the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 will be closed for a few more hours while crews clean up after an accident.

It happened around 9:15 a.m. Thursday near the Bridgewater exit. An investigation found the semi driver, Ronald Jessop, who works for a company out of Utah and was driving with a suspended license, fell asleep at the wheel. That's when officials say he hit a Ford Explorer being pulled by an RV owned by a Kansas couple.

The driver of the RV, 73-year-old Betty Sullivan of Wichita, had to be taken to the hospital after the crash with minor injuries. The passenger in the RV, 74-year-old Leonard Sullivan, also of Wichita, was trapped after the crash and is in the hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Jessop, 25, is in the McCook County jail; he's being charged with careless driving and driving with a suspended license.

Eastbound traffic on Interstate 90 is being rerouted north on 435th Avenue, east on Highway 38 and south on Highway 81.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:A misspelling was corrected in this story.